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| Originally by LYONS MAID, then NESTLE |
I've only just learned that supermarket MORRISON'S were selling ZOOM ice lollies during May of this year, apparently not being available for 20 years prior to that. I remember buying a box of Zooms in my local SAFEWAY or SAINSBURY'S (it was the former before becoming the latter), but I can't remember precisely what year it was. I'm amazed if it really was as long as 20 years ago. Sainsbury's currently sell (and have for a while) a rocket ice lolly which, as far as I recall, is the double of a Zoom, so I must pick up a pack of them the next time I'm in.
Zoom first went on sale in 1963, as a sort of tie-in to FIREBALL XL5, and STEVE ZODIAC actually advertised it on TV for a while. Likewise, FAB ice lollies were first launched in 1967 on the back of THUNDERBIRDS, in particular LADY PENELOPE, because it was originally aimed at girls, in the same way that Zoom was meant for boys - though I doubt that distinction was ever observed by kids themselves. Fab is still available, and back when the live-action Thunderbirds movie was due for release, the association was renewed for a promotion or competition of some sort.
I'll have to keep an eye on Morrison's, because a few months back, they also revived MARATHON bars for a while, and I managed to get a pack of them. 'Twas good to eat one (four in fact, but not all at once) again, despite them tasting exactly the same as their SNICKERS counterpart. If I have one complaint, it was that the Snickers name also appeared on the wrapper, even if it was in reduced form.
Who knows, now that we're leaving the EU, maybe the original names of sweets as we of a certain age knew them will reappear, and we'll again see TREETS, OPAL FRUITS, and all sorts of other items of vanished, once popular confectionery that we were familiar with as kids. Anyone for SPANGLES, JUNGLIE'S JELLIES, AZTEC, AMAZIN' RAISIN, BAR SIX, OLD JAMAICA, SKY RAY, FRY'S FIVE CENTRES, and whatever else I've momentarily forgotten?
Can you think of any others? Let's hear them.
Love Hearts, Curly Wurly and that fudge bar coated with peanuts, can't recall the name. But why would leaving the EU bring back that old confectionary? The EU doesn't tell us what sweets we can eat!
ReplyDeleteYou can still buy Love Hearts and Curly Wurlys (or should that be Wurlies?), CJ. Fudge Bar coated with peanuts? That rings a bell in my memory, but I can't remember the name. I could be mistaken about this, but it was always my impression that names of some products available in the UK were changed to match what they were called in other countries, so that, when travelling, people recognised their favourite chocolate bars (or whatever). Or maybe it was just because it made it easier for manufacturers (for exporting purposes) if everything was called the same everywhere. (Marathons were called Snickers in the US - yes, I know that's not in the EU - for years, before the name was changed in this country.)
ReplyDeleteMackintosh's Toffos were my favourite. There was a plain pack in a navy blue wrapper and a multi-flavour packet on a red wrapper. Gawjus!
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, when Marathon became Snickers in the UK, I was already familiar with the new name from adverts in American comics! Similarly, I knew what M&Ms were when they first hit the shelves in Britain (around 1987ish for both, I would think).
I liked Toffos as well, DS. Aren't they on sale anymore? Bah! And was it really that long ago that Marathons and Treets had their names changed? Over 30 years? I thought it was in the '90s sometime, but time goes by so fast that it probably just seems not so far back to me.
ReplyDeleteI remember Bob Paynter, the IPC Youth Group's Editor, coming back from a trip to America with all sorts of chocolate treats. I think he gave me a Snickers bar, saying that it was the US's equivalent of a Marathon, and Milky Ways and Mars Bars were slightly different. I might be misremembering, but I think a US Milky Way was like a Mars Bar - or vice-versa. This was back around 1986, when Marathons were still called that over here.
Of course, like you, I'd previously seen M&Ms in US ads, but I don't think I clicked to the fact that they were the same as our Treets.
OH how I miss my UK chocs. In general UK chocs are far superior to American. American candies can be quite inventive like Pop Rocks. I don't know why they got rid of Marathon . It takes millions of pounds and years to establish a name brand. I miss Smarties. When my son tells me he doesn't like Smarties they taste like chalk I ask him what? I found out there is a dry candy called Smarties. Who knew.
ReplyDeleteHey Merry Xmas and happy new year man.
Talking of brand names, PS, it's the same with toilet rolls. In the UK, there's Andrex, which in the US and Australia is called Scottex, made by the same manufacturer. They were thinking a few years ago of changing the UK name to the US one, though Andrex is a much softer sounding name, especially for a toilet roll. The hard 't' sound in Scottex makes it sound like a far coarser paper - in my mind anyway.
ReplyDeleteHope you had a great Christmas, and that you have an even greater Happy New Year.